Main Street, Portlaoise

Area

321 m²

Buildings

4 buildings touch it, 557 m² on the ground

Zoning

M2 Town Centre (Primary / Core Retail Area) (LAOIS COUNTY DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2021-2027) The objective

Townland

Maryborough

Planning applications on this parcel

• 30 Aug 2024N/a

  Retain structure to rear of existing public house, comprising of pitched roof canopy, side cladding, ancillary site services and all associated site works, for storage purposes ancillary to the licensed premises

  Retention · Laois County Council, 2460506

Source: National Planning Applications, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, CC BY 4.0. Applicants are not shown.

Designated sites

No designated site (Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area, Natural Heritage Area or proposed one) touches this parcel.

Recorded monuments around it

This parcel is in the zone of notification of 9 recorded monuments.

• LA013-041 Historic town
  Description

  In 1556 the Laois 'campa', known to the English as 'Fort Protector' (LA013-041001-) or the Fort of Leix', was renamed Maryborough in honour of Queen Mary. The fort attracted settlers and a map of about 1560 shows a small walled town around the fort at that date. Maryborough was granted a market in 1567, borough in 1569 and was incorporated by charter of Elizabeth I in 1570 (Bradley et al. 1986, 49). The medieval town consists of a walled town (LA013-041006-) enclosing a large settlement with a plantation castle (LA013-041001-) in the centre and a circular tower or castle (LA013-041003-) of sixteenth century date , a church (LA013-041002-) and graveyard (LA013-041004-) and a mill (LA013-041005-). Many settlers moved into the town and the Elizabethan fiants record a particularly high number of property grants between 1569 and 1571. In 1635 the town obtained a grant of two fairs from Charles I and in 1646 the town was captured by Owen Roe O'Neill but was subsequently retaken by Lord Castlehaven (Bradley et al. 1986, 49). The original market place was probably in Main street in the area between the south side of the street and the fort (LA013-041001-) if one is to judge from the map of 1721. The late medieval church and graveyard was located outside the plantation fort (LA013-041001-) to the west. The map of c. 1560 shows 14 houses and are depicted as gabled single floor structures with a loft on the first floor; all have a central heart. Nothing remains of these houses today although some of the narrow lanes opening southwards from Main Street have tall narrow houses built over them, parts of which may be seventeenth century in date (Bradley et al. 1986, 51). The map shows only one definite street, that entering from the west immediately south of the fort's rectangular tower and exiting through the east wall. This can be tentatively identified with Bridge Street and the eastern section of Main Street (Bradley et al. 1986, 50). The map also shows a break in the west wall immediately north of the fort. This also appears to signify a street which curved southwards around the fort's circular tower. Today, this can be identified with the southern portion of Church Avenue and Church Street, and perhaps with the southern part of Church Avenue. It is clear from the location of the seventeenth century church outside the fort that the town began to expand westwards in the seventeenth century. Railway Street and the western parts of Main and Church Streets probably belong to that time (Bradley et al. 1986, 50-1). Jessop Street, Portlaoise Test excavation was undertaken here by Dominic Delany under licence no. 99E0392, before planning, from 16 to 20 July 1999. The site is north-west of the remains of the 16th-century fort and church of Maryborough (now Portlaoise). Much of the site was formerly occupied by a large, early 20th-century ironworks known as 'Kelly's Foundry'. The foundry buildings were cleared in the early 1990s. The site was covered with hardcore fills, crushed rubble and concrete slabs at the time of testing. Testing comprised the mechanical excavation of ten test-trenches. The hardcore, crushed rubble and concrete slab surfaces occasionally overlay modern deposits but more frequently overlay the light yellowish-brown, clayey sand subsoil, which was encountered at an average depth of 0.4m. The subsoil yielded occasional modern and post-medieval pottery sherds. It had an average thickness of 0.3m and overlay the orange or reddish-brown, natural, clayey sand. Two post-medieval linear features were encountered. A linear feature at least 22.5m long, in Trench 2, probably represents a post-medieval field or property boundary, but the origin of a short (5.65m) linear feature in Trench 9 could not be established. Both features were relatively shallow and sterile and would appear to be of limited archaeological interest. A series of walls (2m high, 0.4m wide) and a stone-lined drain were encountered in Trench 6. The walls represent a subsurface structure, but their origin could not be established. They are very distinctive in that they are almost entirely faced with rounded cobblestones, an unlikely building material. However, this is not unusual for Portlaoise, as many of the surviving 19th-century sheds and outbuildings in the town are similarly constructed (Bennett 2000, 153-4). Fintan Lalor Avenue Assessment and subsequent monitoring were undertaken by Paul Stevens for Margaret Gowan Ltd. Under licence no. 00E0104, along the route of a proposed natural gas pipeline installation in Portlaoise town. This development connects various parts of the town to the gas main and crosses into the area of archaeological potential identified in the Urban Archaeology Survey of County Laois. Test-trenching was carried out in March 2000, under licence, and archaeological monitoring of the pipeline followed shortly afterwards. One of the three proposed trenches was opened. This trench was 5.7m by 1.9m by 1m deep and was close to the supposed southern corner of the outer town defensive ditch in Fintan Lalor Avenue. Nothing of archaeological significance was revealed. Subsequent monitoring of construction was undertaken following approval by Dúchas The Heritage Service for the development. The pipe-trench was located within Fintan Lalor Avenue, a modern road constructed in 1996; however, here the pipeline ran close to the supposed southern corner of the outer town defensive ditch as defined within the area of archaeological potential for Portlaoise. A single linear slot-trench was opened by a trenching machine and JCB; it was 520m long, 0.5m wide and 1-1.1m deep, commencing from the south-western end of Fintan Lalor Avenue (connecting with the section of gas main already laid) and extending to the Garda Station roundabout. Monitoring revealed modern road-fill and subsoil; no archaeological deposits or activity were noted (Bennett 2002, 187). Portlaoise Gaol and Courthouse The present structure was built in the late eighteenth century as a gaol, possibly replacing an earlier one. (The adjoining courthouse, built at the same time, replaced an earlier courthouse destroyed by fire.) It served this function until 1830, and in recent years housed the town's public library. Current plans to reconstruct it and the adjoining buildings as an arts centre necessitated an archaeological investigation, as the complex adjoined the old churchyard of St Peter's (LA013-041002-004-). Three cuttings were excavated by Thaddeus C. Breen under licence no. 96E365 in the courtyard. In two, soil containing brick rubble with mortar fragments was found to a depth of approximately 2m below the present surface. An intact ceramic pipe 0.3m in diameter, probably a sewer, was also found at this depth. Finds from these cuttings comprised pottery of mainly eighteenth-century date (possibly some nineteenth-century), along with glass and clay pipe fragments. In the third cutting two skeletons were found (one incomplete owing to disturbance). They were identified as male, aged 23-25 and 25-30. The causes of death could not be ascertained. Traces of a coffin were present in one case, and it appears to have been slightly too small for the corpse. The skeletons were found at a depth of 1. lm and were oriented north-south, with their heads to the south. Part of a third skeleton was noted in the baulk but not excavated. Beside them, at a lower level, was the base of a stone wall or foundation, at least 0.8m thick. The top of this wall was 1.54m below the present surface, and above this was rubble similar to that found in the other cuttings. The presence of eighteenth- and possibly nineteenth-century material in the layer into which the burials were placed suggests that they represent part of a burial-plot attached to the gaol. The wall may be part of an earlier gaol building. Archaeological testing and monitoring were carried at the courthouse and old gaol, Portlaoise, Co. Laois, from December 1997 to February

• LA013-041001 Castle - unclassified
  Description

  According to the Annals of the Four Masters this fort was constructed by Francis Bryan, Marshall of Ireland, in 1548 on the lands of O'More. Originally known as 'Fort Protector' it was renamed Maryborough in honour of Queen Mary in 1556. Henry Wyse is described as captain of the 'Fort of Leix' in 1552 , while in 1565-6 Francis Cosbie was made constable of the fort, at this time its garrison consisted of 'one porter, one drummer, one ensign, one surgeon and 39 arquebusiers', (Bradley 1986, 51). The town was burnt in 1597 by Orie M'Rory O Mordha and again the following year. (O'Hanlon and O'Leary 1907, vol. 1, 429, 430, 476, 477). The fort was destroyed by Hewson and Reynolds the Cromwellian Generals in 1650 (Feehan 1983, 395). The ground plan of the fort is visible on map c. 1560. A rectangular enclosure (1120 x 1110 yards) with a projecting circular tower at NE corner and rectangular tower at SW corner. Entrance in W wall and in the S of the enclosure were a series of two-storied building. Outside was an external fosse partly fitted with water. The remains consist of N, S and E walls with a circular tower at NE corner (diam. c. 8m, wall T. c. 1.5m) and part of W wall. Within the fort was a rectangular building demolished about 1835 according to the OS letters (O'Flanagan 1933, vol. 1, p. 74). Grose drew an illustration of the rectangular corner tower of the fort in the late eighteenth century (Bradley et al. 1986, 51). Situated on rising ground SW of the Triogue River. The ground plan of the fort is preserved in a map of c. 1560 and in another of late sixteenth century date, now in Trinity College, Dublin. These plans show a rectangular walled area (1024m x 1015m), with a projecting circular tower at the NE corner and a rectangular tower (17 yards x 14 yards) at the SW corner. The only entrance was in the W wall and a two storied range of buildings, described as 132 yards long, appear in the S quadrant of the fort. An external ditch partly filled with water is shown on the 1560 plan. This was subsequently backfilled and the owners of properties on Main St. acquired the extra piece of ground adjoining the wall of the fort. The line of the ditch is preserved in the kink which a number of these allotments have near the fort. The upstanding remains consist of the N, S and SE walls, a circular angle tower at NE angle, and a portion of the W wall. Sections are now concealed by later buildings and are inaccessible. The entrance was in the W wall in the portion which is now missing. The NW corner forms the boundary wall of the Technical School. The gapped lower section of the wall survives to a height of 2.5m and has an external batter. The NW corner is rounded and from here the wall continues eastwrads along Church St. where it forms the garden wall of two houses. The remainder of the Church St. section survives 5-6m high but is punctuated by entrances. Circular tower (int. diam. 8.2m; wall T 1.5m) at NE angle. Internally there is evidence for two floor offsets to accommodate the floor joists of a three storey high angle tower. The tower and the eastern section of the wall adjoining it is incorporated into the modern flour mill (Ranks Mills). The S end of the east wall borders Church Avenue where it has an external height of 3m but the interior is built up by landscaped school grounds. The S wall also borders the School grounds and survives to a height of 3.8m. The remaining short sections are presently behind the outbuildings and backyards of the houses fronting onto Main St (Bradley et al. 1986, 51-2). Excavations by Dominic Delany under licence number 03E0975 that were carried out in Church St during works carried out as part of the Portlaoise Broadband Project from June to December 2003. A cut, which may be associated with a moat surrounding the 16th century fort, was identified along Church Street. It was originally proposed to run the cable trench in the footpath close to the fort wall, but excavations at the W end of the street revealed a substantial culvert running immediately adjacent to the wall. At the E end of Church St a 1.25m square box was excavated that revealed a cut which probably represents the moat surrounding the 16th century fort (Bennett 2006, 297). Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 17 December 2007

• LA013-041002 Church
  Description

  In the 1556 Plantation of Laois it was ordered that a church be built in every town within three years (O'Hanlon and O'Leary 1907-14, vol. 1, p. 436). The earliest historical reference to the existence of a church at Maryborough is a reference to David Good who is listed as vicar of Maryborough in 1598 (Bradley 1986, 53). In 1556 the Laois 'campa', known to the English as 'Fort Protector' (LA013-041001-) or the Fort of Leix', was renamed Maryborough in honour of Queen Mary. The fort attracted settlers and a map of about 1560 shows a small walled town around the fort at that date. Maryborough was granted a market in 1567, borough in 1569 and was incorporated by charter of Elizabeth I in 1570 (Bradley et al. 1986, 49). The medieval town consists of a walled town (LA013-041006-) enclosing a large settlement with a plantation castle (LA013-041001-) in the centre and a circular tower or castle (LA013-041003-) of sixteenth century date , a church (LA013-041002-) and graveyard (LA013-041004-) and a mill (LA013-041005-). Many settlers moved into the town and the Elizabethan fiants record a particularly high number of property grants between 1569 and 1571. In 1635 the town obtained a grant of two fairs from Charles I and in 1646 the town was captured by Owen Roe O'Neill but was subsequently retaken by Lord Castlehaven (Bradley et al. 1986, 49). Situated within its own churchyard W of the sixteenth century fort (LA013-041001-) of Maryborough the remains consist of the W tower and N wall of the nave of the church. The four storey rectangular tower (int. dims. 5.3m x 5.2m; wall T 0.9m) is entered through a rectangular opening in the E wall. There is a high round arched opeing in the W wall, now blocked up and forming the back wall of a house in Church St. It was from this entrance that the tower and church were entered through. There is a blocked splayed opening or possible window in the N wall above the entrance. The first floor is marked externally by a string course above which the tower is stepped back slightly. The weathering for the sloping roof-line of the nave is visible in the E wall and indicates that the tower stood slightly NW of the church. The third floor was the belfry stage and has a round arched window in each wall. The church and graveyard was located outside the walls of the plantation fort but within the town walls, as shown on the c. 1560 map of Maryborough. Portlaoise Gaol and Courthouse The present structure was built in the late eighteenth century as a gaol, possibly replacing an earlier one. (The adjoining courthouse, built at the same time, replaced an earlier courthouse destroyed by fire.) It served this function until 1830, and in recent years housed the town's public library. Current plans to reconstruct it and the adjoining buildings as an arts centre necessitated an archaeological investigation, as the complex adjoined the old churchyard of St Peter's (LA013-041002-004-). Three cuttings were excavated by Thaddeus C. Breen under licence no. 96E365 in the courtyard. In two, soil containing brick rubble with mortar fragments was found to a depth of approximately 2m below the present surface. An intact ceramic pipe 0.3m in diameter, probably a sewer, was also found at this depth. Finds from these cuttings comprised pottery of mainly eighteenth-century date (possibly some nineteenth-century), along with glass and clay pipe fragments. In the third cutting two skeletons were found (one incomplete owing to disturbance). They were identified as male, aged 23-25 and 25-30. The causes of death could not be ascertained. Traces of a coffin were present in one case, and it appears to have been slightly too small for the corpse. The skeletons were found at a depth of 1. lm and were oriented north-south, with their heads to the south. Part of a third skeleton was noted in the baulk but not excavated. Beside them, at a lower level, was the base of a stone wall or foundation, at least 0.8m thick. The top of this wall was 1.54m below the present surface, and above this was rubble similar to that found in the other cuttings. The presence of eighteenth- and possibly nineteenth-century material in the layer into which the burials were placed suggests that they represent part of a burial-plot attached to the gaol. The wall may be part of an earlier gaol building. Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 17 December 2007

• LA013-041003 Castle - tower house
  Description

  Located in the centre of the modern town of Portlaoise, behind the Convent. Circular stone tower house located to the E of the plantation fort (LA013-041001-) and marked on c. 1560 map of Maryborough as being situated within the town walls of the town. This circular stone tower house with base batter survives to full height and is incoporated into a nineteenth century convent that is attached to one side of the circular tower. Evidence of stone corbels indicate floor levels within the interior of the tower. On the 1560 map this stone tower had a two storey gable fronted house with central chimney stack attached to its N face. Small stream ran between the plantation fort and the circular tower and is now represented by the modern road in front of the convent Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 17 December 2007

• LA013-041004 Graveyard
  Description

  The church (LA013-041002-) constructed c. 1556 (O'Hanlon and O'Leary 1907, vol. 1, 436) consists of the North wall of the Nave and the West tower built of roughly coursed mixed stone. Rectangular opening in E wall and blocked-up opening in W. wall. A external string course indicates the first floor. In E wall of second floor is a flat topped window and on each wall of the third floor is a rounded arch window. Otherwise featureless. Late medieval church in large graveyard with eighteenth and nineteenth century headstones. The late medieval church and graveyard was located outside the plantation fort (LA013-041001-) to the west. In the 1556 Plantation of Laois it was ordered that a church be built in every town within three years (O'Hanlon and O'Leary 1907, vol. 1, p. 436) Earliest historical reference to the existence of a church at Maryborough is a reference to David Good who is listed as vicar of Maryborough in 1598 (Bradley 1986, p. 53). Situated within its own churchyard W of the Fort (LA013-041001-) of Maryborough. Portlaoise Gaol and Courthouse The present structure was built in the late eighteenth century as a gaol, possibly replacing an earlier one. (The adjoining courthouse, built at the same time, replaced an earlier courthouse destroyed by fire.) It served this function until 1830, and in recent years housed the town's public library. Current plans to reconstruct it and the adjoining buildings as an arts centre necessitated an archaeological investigation, as the complex adjoined the old churchyard of St Peter's (LA013-041002-004-). Three cuttings were excavated by Thaddeus C. Breen under licence no. 96E365 in the courtyard. In two, soil containing brick rubble with mortar fragments was found to a depth of approximately 2m below the present surface. An intact ceramic pipe 0.3m in diameter, probably a sewer, was also found at this depth. Finds from these cuttings comprised pottery of mainly eighteenth-century date (possibly some nineteenth-century), along with glass and clay pipe fragments. In the third cutting two skeletons were found (one incomplete owing to disturbance). They were identified as male, aged 23-25 and 25-30. The causes of death could not be ascertained. Traces of a coffin were present in one case, and it appears to have been slightly too small for the corpse. The skeletons were found at a depth of 1. lm and were oriented north-south, with their heads to the south. Part of a third skeleton was noted in the baulk but not excavated. Beside them, at a lower level, was the base of a stone wall or foundation, at least 0.8m thick. The top of this wall was 1.54m below the present surface, and above this was rubble similar to that found in the other cuttings. The presence of eighteenth- and possibly nineteenth-century material in the layer into which the burials were placed suggests that they represent part of a burial-plot attached to the gaol. The wall may be part of an earlier gaol building. Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 17 December 2007

• LA013-041005 Mill - unclassified
  Description

  Unlocated mill within the historic town (LA013-041) of Portlaoise known in medieval times as Maryborough. Mill shown on the map of c. 1560 east of the stream from the fort's (LA013-041001-) circular angle tower, its site is today occupied by Rank's Mills. Church Avenue now runs along the line of this mill race that powered the mill the location of which is now marked by the site of Ranks Mills. This mill race would appear to be the stream that is shown on the plan of c. 1560. Area around Pepper's Lane, Portlaoise was investigated by Dominic Delany in the year 1996 under excavation licence no. 96E277. Archaeological test-excavation was undertaken in advance of a proposed commercial and residential development at Pepper's Lane, Portlaoise, in September 1996. The site is located about 150m south-east of the sixteenth-century fort. All OS 6-inch maps show a mill-race running along the site's eastern boundary. This mill-race was formed in the early nineteenth century by revetting the banks of a small stream which is clearly marked on the two surviving sixteenth-century maps of the fort and town. The mill-race powered a large flour mill (recently demolished) which stood on the site of a sixteenth-century mill outside the north-east corner of the old fort. The site is L-shaped in plan and measures 100m north-south by 12-32m east-west. A large nineteenth-century dwelling-house, due to be refurbished, occupies the north end of the site. Following demolition, three trial-trenches were mechanically excavated at the site. Trenches 1 and 2 were located close to the western and eastern boundaries respectively, and extended the full length of the area to be developed (i.e. 85m). Trench 3 was located between Trenches 1 and 2 and was 45m long. At the southern end of the site rubble overburden (0.4m thick) overlay a redeposited mottled grey/brown fine sand (0.7m thick). The sand overlay a natural yellowish-brown clayey silt containing pebbles and cobbles. The ground at the northern end of the site had been very disturbed by the extensive building activity in this area. Rubble overburden (0.7m thick) and the remains of broken concrete and cobbled surfaces overlay a dark brown clayey sand with moderate inclusions of cobbles, pebbles, crushed mortar and brick, and flecks of charcoal and lime (0.25m thick). This overlay the natural reddish-brown clay. The broken remains of the mill-race channel (2.5m wide, 1.5m high) were located in Trench 2. The reverting walls were composed of rubble limestone masonry, and the 15m section which had been covered by buildings at the northern end of the site had a stone- and brick-arched roof. The fill within the roofed section was foul-smelling and a couple of disused sewer pipes entered the channel. A brown silty sand with frequent inclusions of pebbles, glass fragments, pottery sherds, animal bone and synthetic materials lay at the surface (0.15m thick). This overlay a deposit of coarse grey sand with moderate inclusions of flecks of charcoal, modern glass fragments and pottery sherds (0.5m deep, not fully excavated). The remaining section of the mill-race was originally open but had been gradually filled in since it became obsolete in the late nineteenth century. One section of the channel had been broken through and subsequently replaced by concrete piping. No archaeological deposits or features were encountered. Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 17 December 2007

• LA013-041006 Town defences
  Description

  The plan of the town from around 1560 shows that the small settlement clustered around the Fort (LA013-014001-) was enclosed by a wall delimiting a rectangular area. No mural towers or gatehouse are indicated but two openings in the W wall, immediately N and S of the fort and a probable opening in the E wall are indicated. A lease of 1569-71 mentions the 'east gate' of Maryborough. The towns charter of 1570 empowered the coproration to 'fortify the borough with dicthes and stone walls' which may indicted that the defences shown in the map of c. 1560 were considered inadequate by then. There is no defintive evidence, however, for the fortification of Maryborough after 1570. There are no surviving remains of the defences and it is difficult to gauge their exact route (Bradley 1986, 52-3). The E boundary of the town is probably preserved by the line of the Triogue River, the S wall was probably close to the townland boundary, while the W wall may be preserved in the line of Railway St. and Lyster Lane. The 16th century map shows two openings in the W wall, which may represent gatehouses. These lay immediately N and S of the fort controlling entry to Main St. and Church St. There is a similar opening in the E wall in Bridge St. An unusual feature depicted on the 1560 map is the presence of an intra-mural walled enclosure in the SE angle. Its function is unknown (Bradley 1986, 53). Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 17 December 2007

• LA013-041007 Burial
  Description

  Archaeological testing and monitoring were carried at the courthouse and old gaol, Portlaoise, Co. Laois, from December 1997 to February 1998. Thaddeus Breen had investigated three areas under this licence in 1996 (Excavations 1996, 62-3; Cahill & Sikora 2011, Vol. 2, 488). Two areas were investigated during this current phase. Trench 3 was dug in the south-west corner of the courtyard. It produced evidence of cellars associated with the courthouse and a cobbled area (pre-dating the present courthouse). The cobbled area was found to be quite extensive, as cobbles were found during monitoring in the courtyard area of the site to the south. Trench 1 was dug outside the north-east gable of the gaol. A building had been recently demolished here. It produced a cobbled area that may be associated either with the building or with the other cobbles on the site previously mentioned. During monitoring of foundation trenches in the courtyard six skeletons were discovered. They were orientated roughly north-south, and all but one had their heads to the south. All skeletons were supine, with evidence of coffins. Skeletons 75 and 81 were complete. Skeleton 73's feet were truncated by a wall to the south. Skeleton 79 had been disturbed by the foundation trench to the east. Skeleton 77 was truncated from the pelvis up. Skeleton 91 was truncated from the patellae up. From the location of the surviving nails it can be suggested that the coffins were built of several pieces of wood tacked onto a frame. The coffin of Skeleton 75 seems to have had a thin iron band down the centre of the lid, which may have served to keep the coffin together or may have been a decorative strip. Evidence in support of the latter was found when, on closer examination of the metal, an impressed flower motif and swirls were noted. This gives the impression that some care was taken in the construction of the coffin. This is contrary to the impression given by the feet (they were squashed into the coffins) and the incorrect orientation. Perhaps the metal band was reused. It can be suggested that the coffins were built to a standard size as consideration was not given to individuals' dimensions. The fills produced post-medieval pottery sherds, glass and animal bone. The only directly associated finds were a copper-alloy shroud-pin on Skeleton 73 and the coffin nails and metal. Further monitoring did not reveal anything of archaeological significance (Bennett 2000, 125). Archaeological monitoring was carried out in October 1998 on the final phase of ground disturbance works associated with the upgrading of Portlaoise Courthouse and the redevelopment of the old gaol into a new arts centre. The courthouse was built in 1789 and replaced an earlier structure destroyed by fire. The gaol was built at around the same time and remained in use until 1830, from when it functioned as an RIC barracks, until the 1860s. It was converted into a public library in the 1950s. Two phases of trial-trenching and monitoring preceded this programme of monitoring and were carried out between December 1996 and February 1998 (by Thaddeus Breen, Excavations 1996, 62-3, 96E0277, and Fiona Reilly, No. 370 above). These investigations found the remains of a graveyard in the courtyard of the old gaol, a cobbled surface that pre-dated part of the gaol and the remains of a structure outside its eastern wall. Five service trenches were excavated as part of the development, three in the courtyard on the eastern side of the courthouse (Trenches 1, 4 and 5) and two outside the eastern wall of the old gaol (Trenches 2 and 3). Trench 1 (22m long, 1.2m wide) revealed two phases of activity. Phase 1 consisted of a small pit cutting the natural clay at the southern end of the trench, which was filled with organic material containing 18th-century pottery. To the north of Trench 1 a large feature cutting natural was revealed. This was filled with heavy clays containing animal bone and occasional sherds of 18th-century pottery. This feature was cut by a large north-south-orientated limestone wall, 14.85m long, which also extended into Trench 4 (9.77m long, 2.65m wide), to the south. This feature was one of two walls making up Phase 2; the second was orientated east-west and ran off at a right angle from the first. It is likely that these walls formed part of ancillary structures associated with the courthouse. To the east of the old gaol Trench 2 (44.2m long, up to 1.7m wide) exposed two phases of archaeological activity. Phase 1 consisted of a large east-west-orientated pit, which extended into Trench 3 to the west, giving it a minimum length of 4.6m. It was 1.87m wide and 0.95m deep. The pit was lined with organic waste and backfilled with heavy clays. It also showed evidence of having been recut. Phase 2 consisted of the remains of a north- south-orientated limestone wall exposed for 4.1m in section, which was abutted by an east-west-orientated wall to the west of it. This wall continued into the adjacent Trench 3, where the remains of a disturbed cobble and flagstone surface were exposed 1.6m to the south of it. These two walls formed part of the boundary wall enclosing the gaol precinct. To the north of Trench 3 sections of the southern and eastern walls of a previously identified structure were revealed. These walls enclosed the remains of a cobbled surface. The surface was sealed in places by a compact layer of cess and overlay the earlier pit described above. It is likely that this structure functioned as a stable, possibly associated with the RIC barracks (Bennett 2000, 125-6). The present structure was built in the late eighteenth century as a gaol, possibly replacing an earlier one. (The adjoining courthouse, built at the same time, replaced an earlier courthouse destroyed by fire.) It served this function until 1830, and in recent years housed the town's public library. Current plans to reconstruct it and the adjoining buildings as an arts centre necessitated an archaeological investigation, as the complex adjoined the old churchyard of St Peter's. Three cuttings were excavated in the courtyard. In two, soil containing brick rubble with mortar fragments was found to a depth of approximately 2m below the present surface. An intact ceramic pipe 0.3m in diameter, probably a sewer, was also found at this depth. Finds from these cuttings comprised pottery of mainly eighteenth-century date (possibly some nineteenth-century), along with glass and clay pipe fragments. In the third cutting two skeletons were found (one incomplete owing to disturbance). They were identified as male, aged 23-25 and 25-30. The causes of death could not be ascertained. Traces of a coffin were present in one case, and it appears to have been slightly too small for the corpse. The skeletons were found at a depth of 1. lm and were oriented north-south, with their heads to the south. Part of a third skeleton was noted in the baulk but not excavated. Beside them, at a lower level, was the base of a stone wall or foundation, at least 0.8m thick. The top of this wall was 1.54m below the present surface, and above this was rubble similar to that found in the other cuttings. The presence of eighteenth- and possibly nineteenth-century material in the layer into which the burials were placed suggests that they represent part of a burial-plot attached to the gaol. The wall may be part of an earlier gaol building. Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 17 December 2007

• LA013-041008 House - 16th century
  Description

  Ground disturbance works for the Portlaoise and Fort Protector Enhancement Project Phase II at Church Street, Portlaoise, Co. Laois was archaeologically monitored under licence No. 18E0339 by Colm Flynn. The results of the monitoring were summarised as following; ‘It was proposed to construct lighting pillars intermittently along Church Street. To facilitate this, slit trenches were excavated at the location of the lighting pillars, to allow tie-in with the main ESB cable. Two stone walls and a ditch were identified in the first slit trench which is just NW of the corner tower of Fort Protector (LA013-041001-). The walls are 0.2m below existing road level, and are related and form the corner of a building that would have continued northwards. The walls survive as two-course high limestone rubble constructions, with lime mortar bonding. Wall 1 is 0.45m wide (18 inches) and 0.55m high, and appears to continue to the north beyond the limit of works, under the existing roadway. Wall 2 is orientated roughly E x W, and is parallel to the northern wall of Fort Protector, approximately 3.6m from the fort’s wall. There is a grey gravel-rich deposit under the walls (0.12m deep) and this appears to be a foundation or bedding deposit. Possible original natural subsoil is visible below the grey gravel-rich deposit. These walls likely relate to a building that could be contemporary with Fort Protector, and date to the 16th century. A ditch cutting was also identified at the location of the walls. The ditch was identified in section, and extends from the southern edge of Wall 2 for 3.6m to the walls of Fort Protector. The ditch was likely an external ditch around the outer wall of Fort Protector (LA013-041001-) and could date to the 16th century. Although only identified in one slit trench, the ditch appears to be orientated E x W, parallel to the Fort walls. The works in this area are 1m below existing ground level, and the ditch appears to be deeper than this. The walls outlined above are constructed on the upper break of slope of the ditch. Following discussions on site, Laois Co. Co. will ensure that the works do not impact on the walls (and possible building floor that has not been identified), which will be preserved in situ under geotextile’ (Flynn 2021). See attached images provided courtesy of Colm Flynn Compiled by: Caimin O’Brien Date of upload: 28 October 2021

Architectural heritage

No building of the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage stands on this parcel.

Designated sites: National Parks and Wildlife Service. Recorded monuments: Sites and Monuments Record, National Monuments Service. Buildings: National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, CC BY 4.0. Works at or in relation to a recorded monument need two months' written notice to the National Monuments Service (National Monuments (Amendment) Act 1994, section 12).

Download this parcel: DXF, in Irish Transverse Mercator metres, with its neighbours and buildings, for a drawing program; GeoJSON, in WGS 84, for a map.

Registered freehold land, Tailte Éireann, CC BY 4.0. A parcel is the land of a title, not an address. The owner's name is in the Land Registry of Tailte Éireann: a copy of the folio can be ordered on landdirect.ie, for a fee.